Bruce Peterson steps down from Naturipe posts

Bruce Peterson, president and chief executive officer of Naples, FL-based Naturipe Farms LLC, no longer holds those posts at the company but will remain on its board of directors.

Robert Verloop, vice president of marketing for Naturipe Farms LLC, told The Produce News Jan. 29 that Mr. Peterson "has completed the task that the board of directors outlined for him when he was hired, and the decision has been made to shift his responsibilities" to occupying a seat on the board.

Rich Amirsehhi, chairman of Naturipe Farms and president and chief executive officer of Naturipe Berry Growers, a partner company to Naturipe Farms, will assume the president and CEO roles on an interim basis. Mr. Verloop said that the board asked Mr. Amirsehhi to take on those roles to smooth the transition. "It was a very logical move," said Mr. Verloop.

Mr. Peterson, who is best known for his years at Walmart Stores Inc., where he launched its perishable foods division and grew it to become one of the larger produce retailers in the world, joined Naturipe in August 2007 after leaving Walmart in March of that year.